


Beware of Quartermasters Bearing Gifts

by JustAnotherUnderstudy



Series: Happy Bondmas [4]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Christmas Tree, F/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28183233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherUnderstudy/pseuds/JustAnotherUnderstudy
Summary: Q will never admit he screwed up, but he will try to make things right...in a way.
Relationships: James Bond/M, James Bond/M | Olivia Mansfield
Series: Happy Bondmas [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579363
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	Beware of Quartermasters Bearing Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> One year post-Skyfall. M didn´t die. Spectre never happened. What more can you possibly want for Christmas?

The festive Christmas music playing in the lobby of James' building made Olivia smile widely as she walked across the decorated room toward the lift. She waved at the night watchman, who looked as cheery as the decorations and music in his elf hat, and offered him a "Happy Christmas" to his own holiday greeting. She was feeling an unusual level of exuberance for the holiday this year, she thought, as the lift doors slid open when she pressed the up button.

Olivia considered the events of the past year as she rode the lift to James floor. It had been a year since she'd been forced into retirement. She'd always thought that would be the death of her. After experiencing actual death, followed by a surprise resurrection, in the chapel at Skyfall, making the most of retirement became her priority. She was released from hospice in April and had spent the warm summer months traveling through Europe, taking in all the sites she had only known in a professional way for the past 30 years. M had sent James with her as a guard and it had been surprisingly pleasant. She had expected him to be angry. Since Mallory had taken over as M, he'd had James keeping a low profile. James had never expressed any bitterness, though, and at one point commented that she made retirement look appetizing. Olivia wouldn't hear of that, however. She'd told James he must continue his work, even if he wasn't a double-0.

When the doors of the lift slid open at James' level, Olivia headed quickly down the hall. She pressed the bell and waited. James had told her he'd be home tonight, and added "Where else would I go on Christmas Eve?" That had bothered her. Though she usually worked on Christmas Eve, she would be at her son's house tomorrow. James, though, had nowhere to go and no one to go to. 

After a moment, she heard him swear through the door. There was a faint commotion, after which, he swore again before he finally opened the door. It was only a partially opened, though, and his body filled the gap so Olivia was unable to see inside. 

"M, what are you doing here?" he asked with a nervous smile.

He glanced back over his shoulder into the flat. Olivia realized that he must have found someone to spend the evening with and she had interrupted. The pang in her chest felt unusual, but she had been anticipating spending some time with him this evening, though she had denied it to herself until this moment. If she was to be any more honest with herself, she'd say the tightness felt a lot like jealousy.

"I told you, Olivia is fine," she said reassuringly. "I won't keep you from your company, I just brought you a gift."

She held the small, wrapped package out for him to take.

"Happy Christmas," she said.

The smile he gave her made that tightness in her chest worse. He looked both pleased and surprised. She'd never seen that look from him. It gave her a warm feeling she knew she had no right to.

"Thank you," he said in a hushed voice as he took it from her carefully, as if he thought there must be something delicate inside. 

"You're welcome," she said. "I'll let you get back to your company."

He looked up at her from the package and gave her a confused look.

"No, I don't have," he stopped and looked quickly back inside.

"Um, wait here," he told her.

He returned inside the flat, but the door didn't click shut. Olivia could hear him moving around. Suddenly she heard him swear again and something hit the floor.

"James?" she called, and she slowly pushed open the door.

"Uh, wait, I uh," he called as he shuffled around inside.

When she peeked her head inside, he was holding something behind his back. It didn't seem particularly large or heavy, but Olivia didn't get a good look at it. 

"I, uh, I'll just take this to, uh, put it away," he said. "I'll be right back."

"It's alright James," she said. "I already know."

His eyes looked wide with fright and Olivia chuckled, amused at how awkwardly he was behaving.

"If you have a woman over, it's alright, I'm not your mother," she said. "You don't have to hide her."

"A wom—" James cut himself off and shook his head. "No, there's really no one here."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence between them before James began to side step toward the hall.

"I'll be right back," he told her as he disappeared behind the wall.

Olivia hummed an affirmative and pressed the door shut behind her. She looked around the room. It's spartan lack of furniture was offset by the colorful, blinking lights strung along the tall windows that made up the wall across from her. In the corner, near the hall James had just disappeared down, there was a small Christmas tree trimmed with balls and lights and tinsel. Under the tree there were only two small gifts. One was the gift she'd brought to him.

A noise to her left brought her attention to James as he returned to the room. 

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.

"What do you have?" she smiled.

That seemed to give him pause and he looked as if he was weighing his response.

"I could make egg nog?" he queried.

"That sounds appropriate," she said, still smiling.

There was another awkward silence between them before he nodded and turned as he declared, "I'll be right back."

He returned after only a few seconds.

"Sorry, so rude of me, please, have a seat anywhere," he said and quickly returned to the kitchen.

Olivia wondered what James was hiding, but, more importantly, why he was doing such a poor job of it. There wasn't a woman, that Olivia knew now for certain. She smelled no perfume besides her own in the room and she'd heard no other noises but from the two of them. 

She took a seat on the sofa with a quiet sigh. She hadn't meant to upset him, but now that she was thinking about it, why had she thought he'd want to spend Christmas Eve with his former boss? She had shown up uninvited to his home, his personal space. In fact, he had never invited her before. She was intruding. It was no wonder he was behaving oddly. How does one act when a relative stranger shows up on Christmas Eve? Over the summer months, when James had acted as Olivia's bodyguard, it had felt to her that they had pushed past that barrier of work they'd always held between them. Now she could see that it had just been pleasantries. 

The blender was whirring faintly from the kitchen as Olivia gave a melancholy look at the twinkling Christmas lights on the tree. It now seemed quite presumptive to just show up at his flat. She should have called ahead. If someone had asked her what she'd been thinking when she made the decision, though, she wouldn't have able to give a good answer.

After several minutes James returned with the eggnog and handed her a tall glass. He set out two coasters on the glass coffee table in front of the sofa and sat down next to Olivia, but at a respectable distance.

Olivia thanked him and took a drink. Now she was the one feeling awkward.

"I'm sorry, James," she told him. "I really should not have shown up unannounced."

He took a long draught, then carefully licked his upper lip to clear off the cream. Olivia felt an odd surge of heat as she watched him and wondered what exactly she had been thinking of late. She was so caught off-guard by her feelings tonight. She was not one to question her own actions, nor was she, certainly, one to feel the sorts of things for James she had felt since she'd arrived.

"I hardly think you need to apologize for that," he said casually. "At least not to me. I have done the same to you, but without the consideration of knocking."

"That was work, James," she said.

He held her gaze for a long second before quietly answering, "Was it?"

His voice had dropped an octave and Olivia felt it shoot straight to her core. She covered her surprise by quickly taking a sip of her drink as she turned away from him. In the corner of her eye she could see him slump back against the sofa, his face a picture of disappointment and confusion.

"The eggnog is perfect," she said, grateful her voice remained steady. "Just the right thickness and just the right amount of alcohol."

"Thank you," he replied. The uncertainty had returned to his voice and Olivia wondered what he was so nervous about.

They drank in silence for a few minutes. There was some sort of tension between the two of them that she couldn't put her finger on. It was so different than their informalities over the summer holiday. Olivia considered the idea that perhaps the relaxed relationship they'd had just could not translate to their return to London. Finally, James spoke again and brought her out of her thoughts.

"I have a gift for you, as well," he said quietly.

He stood and set his empty class on the coffee table. He walked slowly to the tree and picked up the second gift there. He paused before he turned to bring it back to her, as if he was now considering the wisdom of giving it to her at all.

"Happy Christmas," he said and gave her a pleased look as he handed her the gift.

"Thank you," she said, taking it in hand.

He returned to his seat next to her, but just a little closer. 

"Do you want me to open it now?" she asked.

"No, you can wait until Christmas," he said.

More silence fell between them, a little more awkward and a lot more tense, until James shifted closer and Olivia felt herself drawn to lean in to him. Instead, he leaned all the way forward to pick up the TV remote off the coffee table. Olivia was shocked and maddened by the level of disappointment she felt. What was wrong with her, she thought again.

"I had planned to watch a Christmas movie tonight," he explained. "Would you like to watch one with me?"

"I'd like that," she replied. "That is, if you want me to stay?"

When James didn't reply right away, Olivia turned to him. 

"Yes, I'd like you to stay," he said.

The look he gave her, though, and his tone, made her think that he didn't just want her to stay for the movie, but for more after. She quickly turned and reached for her egg nog. Next to her, she again noticed James' disappointment.

"Which film were you planning to watch?" she asked, relying on her years of practice to cover her discomfiture. 

"I don't know, I was thinking something funny," he said. "Maybe _Elf_ or _A Christmas Story_?"

"My son's favorite Christmas movie is _Elf,_ " she told him.

"Really?" he asked, sounding as if she had just given him a more important piece of information about herself than she considered it to be.

She merely nodded and tried to relax back into her seat to give an air of composure she didn't feel. 

Once James started the movie, Olivia forced herself to get caught up in it so she could ignore the looks she knew James was giving her. He laughed at appropriate times, and seemed as if he was watching the video, but it was obvious that he was really watching her. Fortunately, after thirty minutes, James began to relax and Olivia was able to enjoy the film. 

The crowd was just beginning to sing in Central Park when Olivia turned to James to ask to use the bathroom. She was surprised to find him sound asleep. Deciding not to wake him, she picked up the remote from the table to pause the film, then looked around for a door that might lead to the toilet. The only door in the room was to the outer hallway. There was the opening to the hall where James had disappeared earlier to hide whatever it was he was hiding and to go to the kitchen. Olivia went that way.

She found that the bathroom was an en suite and she hurried inside and shut the door. When she reemerged to return to the living room she was surprised to find herself staring across the room at--herself. Her first instinct was that it was mirror. Almost immediately she realized her error. Her reflection wasn't wearing the same clothes she was, and she wasn't moving at all. Olivia took several steps toward this flat, but life-size likeness of herself.

Halfway across the room she was interrupted by James bursting in. He looked wildly between her and the image before he finally spoke.

"I can explain," he said, breathlessly.

"Oh, I'm sure you can," she replied, more than a little bemused.

"Q," he started.

"Yes, I know," she interrupted, and turned to look at the image again.

"What? How?"

She took a deep breath and sighed audibly.

"He brought me a similar gift earlier today," she explained.

"He brought you a life-size cardboard cutout of yourself?" James asked.

"No," she turned and gave him an incredulous look. "Why would he bring me that?"

"What did he bring?" James asked.

Olivia turned back to the picture so she wouldn't have to look at James who seemed to be hoping her answer was exactly what it was going to be.

"It was one of you," she said quietly.

James took a step toward her, but then stopped.

"What did he tell you about it?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Olivia said. "He just left it, all wrapped, with a bow on."

She stopped, not wanting to tell James where the bow had been placed because now it seemed that it might have been intentionally placed and she wasn't sure how James would interpret it.

"On the heart," he said, taking another step toward her before stopping again.

"Yes," she acknowledged, keeping her voice as steady as she could.

"He told me he gave it to me because I seem to miss seeing you every day," James said.

Olivia didn't know how true that was for James, but it certainly resonated with her. After his attention while she was in hospital and the months spent traveling together, she had been lonely for him when they'd returned to their lives. She had no right to James, however. He had his own life and she did not want to make demands on him.

"Did he, now?" she said, because James had gone silent and she felt she had to say something.

"Yes," James took another step toward her and stopped. "He also said that he brought it because he knew that you and I are in love with each other."

In the silence that followed, Olivia fought to keep her breathing controlled. 

"Are we?" James finally asked.

There was something in the tone of James' voice, the hope mixed with uncertainty, that made Olivia stand up straight and turn back to give him a proud look. After, she would wonder what on earth had caused her to be so bold.

"Well, I know for certain that it is true for my half," she said. "I am in love with you."

For a surprising moment, James looked too stunned to speak. Slowly, a smile formed on his face. It wasn't the first time she had seen him happy, but it was the happiest she had seen him.

"It is true on my part," he said, relieved. "I love you, Olivia."

He took the final steps toward her. Olivia waited for him to lean into her and kiss her, which seemed to be his intent. He didn't, however.

"Well, James, are you going to kiss me or not?" her voice as tart as she could make it while the unusual feelings she'd had all evening began to merge into a burning desire.

He smiled down at her.

"Oh, yes, and so much more."

He leaned toward her slowly and they wrapped their arms around each other .

"Are you sure you're ready for me?" she asked.

James looked as if he was about to say 'yes,' when he seemed to second guess himself. He gave her a searching look.

"You're not talking about lubes and condoms are you?" he asked slowly.

Her debauched look spoke volumes.

"Not in the slightest," she said.

She pulled his lips to hers and he groaned and held her tightly against his body as she began to kiss him passionately.

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by Tayryn's home Christmas decorations. Feel free to imagine M's and James' likenesses to be dressed in whichever favorite movie clothes you wish. :)
> 
> Happy Christmas everyone. I hope you have a nice one.


End file.
